Aztecs preparing for improved 2023-24 season in ACHA play

BY PHILLIP BRENTS

The 2023-24 American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) season is just about here, and coaches have obviously been working hard over the offseason putting together training camp rosters.

San Diego State University had tryouts Aug. 26-29 at the Kroc Center Ice Arena. Aztec head coach Phil Bateman is hoping his team’s second season at the Division 1 level is more prosperous than last season’s 1-20-1 inaugural foray into the division.

“Ultimately, it’s a field of dreams scenario,” Bateman said. “As painful as last year was on the ice with our results, we needed to ‘build it’ so this year they would all come. The collection of incoming, extremely talented players this year are so excited to take on this challenge and be a part of the upward trajectory.”

Bateman expected 45-50 players at tryouts, an impressive number as the team continues to build its Division 1 base.

SDSU remains the lone Division 1 ACHA team in California and offers a steppingstone to higher levels of play in the sport.

The team continues to draw interest both inside and outside of the Golden State.

SDSU players celebrate a goal during the ‘22-23 season. Photo/Phillip Brents

“The 2023-24 Aztecs will be a completely new-look team compared to last season, with only eight to nine returning players,” Bateman said. “We expected 45-plus bodies at tryouts, with a talented group from within the state, out of state and international players trying out.”

A highlight of SDSU’s inaugural Division 1 season in 2022-23 featured a road trip to Buffalo, N.Y., to participate in the annual Canisius tournament.

The other highlight was obviously its first Division 1 win in team history.

The Aztecs entered their final home stand Feb. 17-18 against George Mason University with a numbing 0-191 record. SDSU pulled out a thrilling 5-3 victory with late third period goals by Nolan Conrad and Luke Desmarais to snap a 3-3 tie.

Shane Ege, Ian Stentz and Michael Eng also scored for the host team while Isaiah Tano and Kim each picked up two assists. Michael Pellegrino, the team’s season scoring leader with 22 points (three goals, 19 assists) in 22 games, also drew a helper in support of Parks Owensby, the winning goaltender, who made 26 saves on 29 shots.

“The guys celebrated like they had just won the Stanley Cup,” Bateman recalled.

But the celebration was mixed with a dose of reality as GMU took the season-ending game by a 9-3 count.

Aztec opponents for the upcoming season include Colorado Boulder, Colorado State, George Mason University, U.S. Naval Academy, Arizona State University, University of Arizona, Grand Canyon University, UNLV, University of Utah and University of Oregon.

SDSU will once again compete as an independent.

Home games remain at the Kroc Center Ice Arena.

Bateman remains optimistic about the upcoming season with a much larger and deeper recruiting class to take on Division 1 opponents.

“I don’t think anyone in the division wanted us to go through the season without a win,” the SDSU bench boss said. “After we beat George Mason, I received emails from 12 programs congratulating us.

“That was good to get respect.”